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Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport, which can be best described as a combination of swimming, football (soccer), basketball, and wrestling. A team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The goal of the game resembles that of football/soccer—to score as many goals as possible, each goal being worth one point.

Basic skills needed for a Water Polo Player

• Treading water: The most common form of water treading is referred to in the United States as the "egg-beater," named because the movement of the legs resembles the motion of an egg beater or mixer. The advantage of the egg-beater is that it allows the player to maintain a constant horizontal position in the pool (as opposed to the scissor kick, which results in the player bobbing up and down.) Also, by kicking faster for a brief period the player can get high out of the water (as high as their waistline) for a block or catch.
• Swimming: As water polo is a team water sport, swimming is most commonly a skill which is aquired before playing this sport. It is a key element as it is needed to swim back and forth across the court often.
• Ball handling skills: As all out-field players are only allowed to touch the ball with one hand at a time, they must develop good ball control.

Overview

The game is divided into four quarters, each of seven minutes. The game clock is stopped when the ball is not 'in play' e.g. between a foul being committed and the free throw being taken and between a goal being scored and the re-start. This causes the average quarter to last around 12 minutes 'real time'. A team may not have possession of the ball for longer than 35 seconds without shooting for the goal - after this time, possession passes to the other team. However if a team shoots the ball within the alloted 35 seconds, and regains control of the ball, the shot clock is reset to 35 seconds.

Dimensions of the water polo pool are not fixed and can vary between 20 x 10 and 30 x 20 metres, and are filled with water to a minimum depth of at least 1.8 metres. The goals are 3 metres wide and 1 meter high. The ball used is a water polo ball. One player on each team is designated the goalkeeper, and their primary job is to guard the goals, deflecting or catching any shots at goal. The goalkeeper is the only player who can touch the ball with both hands at any time, and the only player allowed to stand on the bottom (if the pool is shallow enough to allow this).

Players can move the ball by throwing it to a teammate or swimming whilst pushing the ball in front of them. Players are not permitted to push the ball underwater when being tackled, or push or hold an opposition player unless that player is holding the ball. Water polo players tend to need remarkable stamina due to the considerable amount of holding and pushing that occurs during the game, both that which is unseen/ignored by the referees and that which is allowed. Water polo is one of the most physically demanding of all sports.

As in ice hockey, players can be sent out for short periods of time for committing fouls. In waterpolo, a player caught committing a bad foul, is sent out for 20 seconds, until the next goal, or until his team re-gains possession, whichever comes first. If the foul is a non-sportsman like act however it is considered an act of brutality and will result in the player being ejected for the remainder of the game. During a 'man-up' situation resulting from a foul, the attacking team can expect to score, by adopting a 4-2 formation, and moving the goalkeeper out of position. A player that has been sent out three times must sit out the whole match.

At long range from the goals, shots at goal are usually easy for goalkeepers to stop, but from closer in are very difficult.

Positions

There are six field player positions, however unlike most common team sports there is no positional play, players often will play several positions throughout the game as situations demand.

There are standard offensive and defensive positions that act as a guideline for players, the most basic positional set up is known as a 3-3, due to the fact that there are two lines both containing 3 players.

Key positions offensively include: 1 hole set player, 2 wing players, 2 drivers, and 1 point man.

The Hole Set is the center player for the line closest to the opposing teams goal. This player sets up in front of the opposing teams goalie and usually scores the most individually or contributes most often to initiating plays.

The four wing players often swim the most and interchange their positions several times during a single offensive play. They contribute to the actual execution of plays, and most often cumulatively score the most points for any team.

The point player is very similar to a wing player. The position of the player at the top gives more access to providing a better pass to teammates.

Defensive positions are often the same, but just switched from offense to defense. Defense can be played person to person or zone.

The goalkeeper is the only player given several privileges above that of the other players. Only the goalie can touch the ball with two hands. A goalie sometimes counter-attacks by blocking a shot, gaining control of the ball, and making a field pass to a teammate at the opposite end of the pool. This is known in some parts of the world as "cherry picking."

History

Invented in the late nineteenth century in Great Britain and played in many countries around the world, notably including Hungary, the game involves teams of seven players (plus up to five substitutes), with a ball similar in size to a soccer ball but constructed out of waterproof nylon. The goal of the game is to throw the ball into the team's goal net at the end of the pool, and prevent the opposition from doing so at the other end of the pool.

Men's water polo was the first Olympic team sport in the 1900 games. Women's water polo was only introduced in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games after political protests from the Australian women's team. Such protests were rewarded when Australia won the gold medal match against the United States with a "buzzer-beater" last-minute goal.

The annual Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities is the longest running waterpolo fixture in the world, having run since 1891.

The most famous waterpolo match in history is probably the 1956 Summer Olympics semi-final match between Hungary and the Soviet Union. As the athletes left for the games, the 1956 Hungarian revolution happened, and a 200,000 strong Soviet army crushed a small uprising of Hungarian insurgents. Many of the Hungarian athletes vowed never to return home, and felt their only means of fighting back was by victory in the pool. The confrontation was the most bloody and violent waterpolo game in history, in which the pool reputedly turned red from the blood spilt. The Hungarians defeated the Soviets 4-0 before the game was called off in the final minute to prevent angry Hungarians in the crowd reacting to Valentin Prokopov punching Ervin Zador's eye open. The Hungarians continued to win the championship by defeating Yugoslavia 2-1 in the final. Half of the Hungarian Olympic delegation defected after the games.

Water polo world championships are held every year together with the world swimming championship, under the auspices of FINA "Water Polo World League".

Today water polo is gaining popularity in the United States. Though the majority of domestic club teams are based in California it has become more widespread among New England preparatory high schools and Ivy League universities.